


Growing Up

by about_a_girl



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Daddy Issues, F/M, Kidnapping, Love, Murder, Murder Family, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 16:38:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11384160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/about_a_girl/pseuds/about_a_girl
Summary: A family murder leads the BAU to Melody, a girl who was kidnapped and whose childhood was twisted and morphed into something horrendous. Spencer questions her and tries to piece together her childhood in hopes of figuring out the identity of a man she only refers to as Daddy.





	1. one|| training wheels

**Author's Note:**

> This is your typical "x reader" fic, I've decided it's much easier to give you a random name so that I don't have to struggle with pronouns and the such. I hope that you enjoy it despite that, and well yeah! Please comment what you think of my writing and don't forget to Kudos if you enjoy it!

__**"I carry band-aids on me now, for when your soft hands hit the jagged ground, wheels aren't even touching the ground."  
** **  
chapter one||** _t r a i n i n g w h e e l s._

"Melody where were you last night?"

The  younger girl took her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes darting around the room trying to distract her. Silver cuffs dug into her wrist as she stared at the agent in front of her. His eyes were a dark piercing brown, his skin was a silky caramel color, and his muscles rippled under his black shirt as he gently shifted in the chair he was seated in. As her eyes grazed the room she begun to realize that there wasn't much to distract herself with. She was seated in a silver chair identical to the agent's, and there was a matching silver table that held up her clasped hands. In the left corner of the room there was a worn black door with a silver handle, and to the right of it was a large tinted window where vague shadows traveled back and forth. Above the two of them were fluorescent lights that blinded her and made her terribly itching in her own lying, disgusting, worthless skin.

"I-I was riding my b-bike on my w-way to my daddy's."  The words slipped out of her bright bubblegum colored lips, sounding completely normal to her, but terribly sensual to the agent seated across from her. He cleared his throat slightly, shifting once again in his chair.

Taking in her appearance and the generally confused look on her face, it was clear to the agent, Derek Morgan was his name (but she hadn't known that), that she didn't feel she belonged here and that being put under this much pressure was going to make her break down, he just wasn't sure if the break down would make her lash out, or if it would make her spill the beans and perhaps even a few tears. If anything, he was hoping it was the latter, but he couldn't honestly tell.  
  
"Alright, and can your old man or anyone else prove that you were there?" She stared at him, now covered in a light sheen of sweat as his left eyebrow raised in a questioning manner. A lump grew thick in the back of her throat as she held back the urge to curl up in a fetal position and cry.  
  
"Well n-no...because you see I was h-headed there but I d-didn't actually make it." Her eyes broke contact  with his, drawing down to silver metal that encircled both wrists and was connected with a small chain. She pushed her wrists down onto the table so the metal would dig into them and allow her to focus more. Pain made her think, and if she wanted to get out of this without drawing attention to herself she needed to think clearly.  
  
"So then where did you go? Did you head to the Martinez's house?" Morgan slammed photos of the slaughtered family onto the table in front of Melody. Her eyes squinted down at the photos, looking at the detail on their painted faces and their body positions. She knew who had committed the murders, and she couldn't believe that they would do such a thing...but she wouldn't let them get taken away.  
  
"They're...they're dollies. They're a happy family now. They're better off this way." Melody's eyes squeezed shut as Morgans fists slammed onto the table. Her eyes remained tightly closed as she trembled in her chair, shaking her head fiercely, her mind attempting to find any way for her to forget the situation, but she knew that she couldn't and that she would have to face this. All alone.

Morgan threw another picture on top of the pile, his body radiating a fury that Melody recognized from her childhood. The picture however, wasn't a mutilated body, but a man of a shimmering bronze complexion sporting a bright genuine smile, with his arm wrapped around a woman who had the same complexion and the most genuine look of adoration in her eyes, the woman's eyes trained on a girl who looked exactly like her but slightly shorter and decked in a graduation cap and gown.

"Mr. Martinez was a prospering business man married to Mrs. Martinez who was a social security worker that occasionally took in foster children. And Melanie? Their daughter? She had a full ride scholarship to the University of Florida. There wasn't a happier family than them. This is how it should be. Not this," Derek pointed to the picture of the family that laid dead, sprawled across their living room floor.  
  
Melody sat in silence, cringing as she stared at the pictures of the murdered family, as smiling slightly as she looked at the smiling family, her fingers tracing their smiles as she frowned and looked away ashamed.  
  
Little did Melody know that Derek was standing there watching her across the table, noticing the look of pain and disturbance as she studied the crime scene photos, and the look of genuine sadness and grief on her face as she stared at the practically perfect family. And as he analyzed her, seemingly doused in sadness and grief, he thought that perhaps she even looked like she longed for a family as perfect as the one her eyes shifted back to every once in a while.  
  
Derek's hand slipped into his pants pocket, closing around a small metal object. As he retrieved it, he leaned over the table, and took the her cuffed hands into his.  
  
"Baby girl you can leave."  
  
 _"Baby girl come here,"  
_

_"Baby girl lay down and don't move."_  
  
"Baby girl I said shut the fuck up."  


_"Baby girl what the fuck is this? You're fucking pathetic."_

_"Baby girl if I have to say this one more fucking time, I'm going to beat you senseless."_    
  
"Melody you can leave now." Derek's voice broke through her flashbacks, and she nodded without actually comprehending what was being said. Her eyes found the unlocked cuffs that laid upon the silver table, but she shook her head impatiently and her eyes found his again.  
  
"I t-think I know who d-did t-that," Her index finger pointed shakily at the murder scene photos and Derek sat down in the chair across from her and nodded, as if telling her she should continue.  
  
"Well you j-just...you h-have to p-promise me that n-nothing bad will happen to them."


	2. two|| carousel

**_"Round and round like a horse on a carousel we go...chasing after you is like a fairy tale, but I feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel."_ **

**chapter two||**   _c a r o u s e l_

She had been sitting there for hours, no longer cuffed but shaking. Tremors vibrated through her limbs as she pondered the immense amount of trouble she would be in when she returned to her daddy and she knew that he would find her. He always did.

 _There was one distinct memory of her attempting to escape her daddy's grasp. It was a few weeks proceeding one fateful day on the playground, a day when she had particularly missed the woman referred to as mommy. Mel decided it was time for her to go home even though she knew that daddy wouldn't approve. So while he was out grocery shopping one afternoon, she slipped outside. The sun seeped into her skin and she giggled so hard so she started crying. She walked aimlessly for hours and hours, and as the sun began to set in the sky, worry swelled in her small tummy. The sky looked like cotton candy, various shades of pink swirling with blues and she thought that she might make it home even though she hadn't any idea where she was going when a hand gripped her wrist._  
  
_"Where do you think you're headed doll?"_  
  
_And this same scene repeated itself for the next few weeks. Every time daddy went "grocery shopping" she would wander off and one day daddy had enough. When he found her he dragged her by the hair to the home she would come to love and he beat the daylights out of her._  
  
_That was the last time she'd seen the cotton candy sky._  

"Melody can you hear me?"  
  
She shook her head, to rid her mind of the thoughts of the past and her eyes met a pair of soft brown eyes. She smiled gently and giggled softly, those eyes that bore into hers reminded her of a puppy. And his hair was long and fluffy, and it looked so silky, almost like the fur on her teddy bear at home.   
  
Home. A place that she missed so much right now. She wanted to lay in her own bed and stare at the pink ceiling, but she was stuck here in this dull room of silver and gray.  
  
"Uh, Hi Melody? I'm Dr. Spencer Reid. I'm just here to ask you a few questions."  
  
Melody giggled and nodded, still in her own world. As she came back to her senses she decided she liked this boy much better than the one that had shown her the pictures just hours earlier. She stood from her chair quietly, strode around the table and sat on the floor on her knees, smiling gently at the man. Her hands were folded gently on her lap and she looked like she was ready for a command. Almost like a dog.  
  
The boy cleared his throat, and pulled at the tie around his neck attempting to gather his thoughts and begin the questioning. He scooted back in his chair as he stared at the dark brown eyes that held his gaze with curiosity.  
  
"What can you tell me about your father?" His head cocked to the side gently and he rested his head upon his chin. Melody laughed and shook her head, her black ringlets bobbing back and forth.  
  
"Daddy doesn't like being called father. Daddy said to call him daddy only, otherwise he would beat me with his bat." She smiled and continued. "I did not really answer the question...Daddy is a good man with a kind heart and has taken care of me for a very long time."  
  
Reid bit his lip and nodded, she looked happy talking about this man, whoever he was he was clearly off somewhere, and he would figure out how Melody ended up with him.  
  
"What about your mommy? Where is she?" Melody watched as the boy squinted slightly and she frowned.  
  
"Daddy took me home. Away from a girl named mommy a long long time ago." She shook her head and her eyes squeezed shut in discomfort. "Daddy said to never talk about her. Never, never, never."  
  
Reid nodded, "Of course, okay. When did you meet uh...Daddy?" He cleared his throat again, and fiddled with his tie, as he watched her muscles relax and her eyes open slightly.  
  
"I met daddy at the park. I was four. Daddy said I was the prettiest girl he had ever met. We played hide and seek and he rode the carousel with me. He bought me ice cream and balloons and we always had so much fun," Her eyes welled with tears, "but I got older and now Daddy says I'm a burden. I don't...I don't even know what that means but I know it cannot be good. He does not...he does not love me like he used to and it makes me sad." She wiped the tears that had dribbled down her cheeks, and looked up at Reid with the brightest smile, "But Daddy is a great man."  
  
Reid pressed on the earpiece in his ear, that was whispering words to him and he nodded, and it confused Melody. Hotchner was telling him it was his job to keep her company as the rest of the team proceeded gathering information on Melody and the case.  
  
"So Sir, do you have a Princess? Or a burden?"  
  
Spencer chuckled slightly and shook his head rapidly.  
  
"No, Melody I don't have a Princess or a burden. I live by myself."  
  
Her face scrunched up in confusion but she nodded her head, and twiddled her fingers in her lap. She looked down for a moment, as if thinking hard about something before she looked up and smiled.  
  
"Well are you looking? You know my Daddy tells me that there is a Princess for every Prince."  
  
He bit his lip and shook his head as he tried to figure out a way to properly word his sentence so as not to trigger her in any way.   
  
"I'm too busy to look for a Princess, but I'm sure when the time is right she'll come to me."  
  
Melody nodded excitedly and bounced up a down a bit. Her mouth moved rapidly as if she was trying to formulate the words but they weren't coming to her.  
  
"Do you....do you think that maybe my Prince will come to me to?" Spencer sat there for a moment, looking upon the girl that sat on the floor with a solemn look in her eye but a grand smile on her face and he tried hard to keep questioning her rather than comfort her.  
  
"Your daddy isn't your Prince?"  
  
At this, she looked taken aback. Her face fell, and she looked ashamed as her head faced the floor and she shook her head.  
  
"If Daddy asks me, he is my Prince, but I've read all the books and he does not...he does not love me. I want him to love me. If people ask me I say that my Daddy loves me, but he is out searching for other Princesses, I know. I sit at home and read about Princesses when I should be treated like one." She smiled for a split second and it fell into a frown as her head faced the floor again.  
  
"Melody who's your favorite Princess?"  
  
Her head shot up, her curls bouncing as she looked at Reid with the brightest smile. Her mouth started moving rapidly again, like there were so many words, so many things she wanted to say but it was just air.  
  
"My favorite is Belle."  
  
Reid hadn't really liked her answer, because he could perceive her explanation as to why the princess was her favorite before she had even spoken.  
  
"When I read that story I think that I am Belle, and my Daddy is the Beast. I guess...I guess I still hope that he will learn to love me."


	3. three|| tag, you're it

**_"Can anybody hear me? I'm hidden under ground. Can anybody hear me? Am I talking to myself? Saying 'tag, you're it, tag, tag you're it.' He's saying 'tag_** _, **you're it, tag, tag you're it.' ...I can taste your skin in my teeth. 'I love it when I hear you breathing, I hope to God you're never leaving.'"**_   

**chapter three||** _t a g , y o u ' r e  i t_

After Spencer had asked her about her favorite Princess, he walked out. He needed just a moment. A moment to wash his face, to breath, to think, to regain his faith in humanity before returning to the interrogation room where an eighteen year old girl sat with the brain capacity of a 6 year old. As he walked out of the restroom, he sighed, his eyes tracing the gray carpet as he made his way to the silver door that would seal him in that room with that girl who had lost her whole life because of one fucked up man. He hadn't realized he had reached the door until his frail hands grasped the silver handle and he had to turn his head away as he pulled on it, swinging it open. He turned and closed it behind him, looking at it now closed. He spun around to see her still sitting there on her knees. Obedient. Oblivious.   
  
He closed his eyes gently, letting out a stiff sigh, before he opened his eyes and walked over to the silver chair that he was seated in twenty minutes ago.  
  
"Hello there Sir. Are you feeling okay?" He smiled softly at her genuine concern for his well being, knowing that she should really actually be asking herself after all that she'd been through, but he just nodded.  
  
"So Melody, can you tell me how exactly you and your Daddy met?"  
  
In that moment she glanced away from him and her eyes seemed to glaze over. She spoke of the story, though she didn't really seem all there. Spencer didn't realize that as she explained the story she saw it all play through her head, like a mini movie.  
  
 _As the carousel stuttered to a stop, the man's hand fumbled to undo the buckle, then they slipped under her arms to pick her up and place her down on the base of the ride. She giggled and hopped to the ground, the man following close behind her. His gravelly voice spoke up as she turned to face him with the prettiest smile.  
_

_"What do you say we play a game of tag Princess?"_

_She nodded with an energy that he hadn't seen in years...an energy he was yearning for._

_"Mmkay Princess, here are the rules: I'm gonna count to twenty, you'll run and find a hiding spot-"_

_"I know how to play this game, Silly," She interrupted with an adorable giggle that tickled him in so many places...places it wouldn't affect normal people._  
  
 _"Yes but, if I catch you then I'm gonna take you somewhere special. If I don't catch you can keep playing around here, and I'll play with you sometime else."_  
  
 _Melody nodded in approval, having no idea the deal that she had actually agreed to. The man turned his back and began counting to ten. Young Mellie looked around anxiously for a place to remain hidden when her eyes found the large twisting tube, and her little feet ran towards it. Her baby fists clasped around the metal ladder as she pushed herself up onto the play set. She crawled into the slide and slipped down a bit til she was far enough down that you couldn't see her from the entrance or the exit. She listened carefully, hearing the man shout twenty. She held her breath, a little scared that he would find her (Mel didn't like being a loser), and looked around warily. She squeezed her eyes shut, still holding her breath in anticipation as she heard footsteps and felt someone get in the tube. Hands grabbed her sides as the person's momentum forced her and them down the tube and closer to the exit. The two flew out onto the sand in fits of laughter. When her eyes opened she was blinded for a moment by the bright sun. She scrambled to her feet and started running, laughing as she went before a hand grabbed the back of her sweater and another clasped over her mouth._  
  
 _"You made a deal with Daddy don't you remember?"_  
  
"So you never saw your mommy after that day?" Spencer was listening, reluctantly, to the story of her kidnapping, and what disturbed him most is that Melody hadn't known. She hadn't known that this was wrong, that she was stolen.  
  
"No, that was the last time I saw that girl mommy. Daddy told me never ever to talk about her so I knew better than to ask him. I do not like making my Daddy mad." She looked pained as she smiled.  
  
Her right hand, that was clasped in her left, let go, and reached up to lay itself upon Spencer's knee. Her eyes were filled with this somber hope, and she smiled weakly at him.  
  
"You do not have to look so angry Sir. My Daddy is a good good man. Who treats me very well. He feeds me, and gives me these pretty dresses to wear, and he beats me when I deserve it. It is okay." His eyes squeezed shut at this, and he shook his head gently.  
  
"Your Daddy is not a good man. Your daddy is a very bad man. He's no Prince, he's a criminal."  
  
She pulled her hand back quickly, like she had been burned. And perhaps she had been, by his words.  
  
"You do not know Daddy like I do." Her eyes squeezed in pain and her hands tore at the fabric of her dress over her chest, like her heart physically hurt.  
  
"I know enough to hate him. To hate what he's done to you."  
  
"ALL HE HAS EVER DONE IS LOVE ME!" Melody screamed at Reid with a burning passion and he was quick to respond.  
  
"Love you? You already said he's looking for another Princess. A better one. Someone who loves you would stay with you, like in the books. They live happily ever after. Are you?"


End file.
